President Bush on Thursday stopped by a booth by MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. of Albany in Washington, D.C., and made a cell phone call from a phone powered by MTI's direct methanol micro fuel-cell system, according to the company.

Bush also had words with Roger Saillant, president and CEO of Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq: PLUG) of Latham. Plug makes larger fuel-cell power units that will power homes, among other uses, while MTI MicroFuel Cells (a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MKTY) makes small power packs designed for cell phones, laptop computers, PDAs and other uses.

Bush, along with U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman were at the White House-sponsored event demonstrating alternative energy. The demonstration follows the president's State of the Union address last week highlighting the need to focus on alternative energy to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

"Both this event and the president's remarks in his recent State of the Union address show the increasing importance of new energy technologies in these difficult times," said Dale Church, MTI MicroFuel chairman.